Biomolecules

Standards

• Compare the structure and function of each of the listed organic

molecules in organisms:
▪ Carbohydrates (glucose, cellulose, starch, glycogen)
▪ Lipids (phospholipids, steroids)
 Proteins (insulin, enzymes, hemoglobin)
▪ Nucleic Acids (DNA, RNA)
Types of Reactions
 Biomolecules

1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Nucleic acids
4. Proteins
 1. Carbohydrates
Consist of C, H, and O (usually in 1:2:1 ratio)

Overall Importance to Organisms

• Main source of energy
• Some plants use it for structural support
Monomer – Building block of Carbohydrates

Glucose
 Organization and Tips
• Sugars usually end in “ose”

Levels of carbohydrates
Monosaccharide – 1 monomer (simple carbohydrates)
Disaccharide – 2 monomers
Polysaccharide – 3+ monomers (complex carbohydrates)
Contain most stored energy! Called Polymers
Monosaccharide – one monomer, simple sugars
Disaccharides – 2 monomers
Glucose – simple sugar used to make energy (ATP)

Formula: C6H12O6
Polysaccharides – Starch

• Plants use for

energy storage
 Polysaccharide – Glycogen

• Used for energy storage in the

muscles and liver of animals
• Also called “animal starch”
 Polysaccharide – Cellulose
• Used to strengthen
plant cell walls
• Wood and paper are
made out of cellulose
Polysaccharide – Chitin

• Chitin – forms cell wall in fungi

and exoskeletons
1. Which carbohydrate is used for energy
storage in animals?

A.Starch
B. Chitin
C.Glycogen
D.Cellulose
2. Glucose is which type of carbohydrate?

A. Monosaccharide
B. Disaccharide
C. Polysaccharide
3. Which type of carbohydrate has the most
stored energy?

A.Monosaccharide
B. Disaccharide
C.Polysaccharide
4. Which carbohydrate is used for energy
storage in plants?

A.Starch
B. Chitin
C.Glycogen
D.Cellulose
5. Which carbohydrate is used for structural
support in cell walls for all plants except fungi?

A.Starch
B. Chitin
C.Glycogen
D.Cellulose
 2. Lipids
Consists mostly of C, H, and O. Very few O

Overall Importance to Organisms

• Store energy
• Parts of biological membranes
• Waterproof coverings  Not soluble in water
Basic building block – “E shaped” Triglyceride
 Organization and Tips

Typically consist of fats, oils, and waxes

Come in very different shapes and sizes
• Saturated Fat – contain the maximum
amount of H
• solid at room temperature
• Butter, cheese, animal fat

• Unsaturated Fat – have double bonds

instead of more H
• liquid at room temperature
• Plant oils
• Phospholipid –
make up the
cell membrane
in a bilayer
• Has a “head”
and “tail”
• Bilayer – 2 layer
 Phospholipid bilayer in cell membrane

• Bilayer – 2 layers
• Waterproof = not water soluble
• Steroids – lipids with 4 fused rings of
carbon
• Function as hormones and vitamins

• Examples
• Cortisol
• Hormone that helps you de-stress
• Cholesterol
• helps produce Vitamin D, testosterone,
and estrogen
• Too much causes heart disease
6.Which is an example of a saturated fat?

A. Oil
B. Cholesterol
C. Phospholipid
D.Butter
8. What letter represents the basic shape of a
lipid of 1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids?

A. G
B. E
C.L
D.K
 9. What property of lipids makes them an essential
structural component of the cell membrane?

A. Ability to be solid or liquid

B. Do not dissolve in water
C. Numerous structural
shapes
D. Contain few oxygen atoms
 3. Nucleic Acids

Consist of C, H, O, N and P
Overall Importance to Organisms
• Stores and transmits genetic hereditary information
• Codes for proteins
Basic Building Block- Nucleotide
Sugar part of Nucleic Acids

DNA RNA
8 Nucleotides in Picture
Nucleic Acids

DNA – double
stranded genetic
molecule

RNA – single stranded

genetic molecule
Base pairs in DNA: A – T and C – C
Organization and Tips
• Phosphate and sugar backbone
• Nitrogenous bases in middle
RNA
• has A-U and C-G as bases, single stranded, has ribose
• Genetic material in viruses
DNA
• has A- T and C-G as bases, double stranded helix shape, has
deoxyribose
• Genetic material in humans
Nitrogenous Bases of DNA
Nitrogenous Bases of RNA
 10. Which monosaccharide is a part of RNA?

A. Glucose
B. Ribose
C. Deoxyribose
D.Cellulose
 11. Which nucleic acid was double stranded,
shaped like a ladder, and had the bases A, T,
G, and C ?

A. RNA
B. DNA
 12. Which nitrogenous base was RNA missing?

A. Cytosine
B. Guanine
C. Adenine
D.Thymine
 13. What do the nitrogenous bases code for?

A. Carbohydrates
B. Proteins
C. Nucleotides
D.Carbon
 4. Proteins

Consist of C,H, O and N

Overall Importance to Organisms

• Speed up reaction rates and regulate processes
• Form bones and muscles
• Transport substances through cells
• Part of immune system
20 Amino Acids – R (random/variant) groups are highlighted
Amino acids bond
in different
combinations,
producing
proteins
 Organization and Tips

• 20 amino acids bond in

different orders and fold in
different ways to produce
1,000’s of proteins
• Bond = peptide bond
• Chains of amino acids =
polypeptide chain
Polypeptide chain
Folding
 Hemoglobin

• Protein that carries O and CO2

in the blood to tissues

• Each RBC holds 280 million

hemoglobin molecules!
• RBC = erythrocytes, red blood cells
Sickle cell anemia – abnormal hemoglobin
 Antibodies

• Part of the immune

system that mark
foreign cells for
destruction
Insulin

• *A hormone made by the

pancreas that allows sugar to
enter the cells to be used for
energy
• Diabetes- insulin malfunctions
and cannot control the amount
of sugar entering the cells
Enzyme – catalyzes (speeds up) a reaction by
holding the substrates in place so they can react
Lactase enzyme – speeds up the reaction of lactose
breaking down into glucose and galactose
Enzyme – lowers the activation energy of a reaction, so
it can occur easier and faster
pH scale – a numbered scale of acidity and alkalinity

Acids – 6 and below

Bases (alkaline) – 8 and above
neutral (water) – 7
Optimal pH – best pH for enzyme

• Pepsin normally functions in

the stomach

• Amylase normally functions in

the mouth

• Arginase normally functions in

the bladder (ammonia in
urine is a base/alkaline)
Denaturing – harms protein due to intense heat
 14. What is the function of an enzyme?

A. build molecules
B. Break down molecules
C.Slow down reaction
D.Speed up reaction
 15. Which part of the amino acid is different in
the 20 amino acids?
A. Amino group
B. Hydrogen
C. Carboxyl
D.R-Group
16. What is the optimal pH of the enzyme catalase?

A. 8 - basic/alkaline
B. 2- acidic
C.9 – basic/alkaline
D. 7 – neutral
 17. A polypeptide is a….

A. type of bond
B. carbohydrate
C. chain of amino acids
D. a simple molecule
 18. What causes a protein to denature?

A. High acidity
B. High alkalinity
C. Double bonds
D.Intense heat
 19. In the diagram, which is the substrate?

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
 19. In the diagram, which is the products?

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
 19. In the diagram, which is the enzyme?

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
19. In the diagram, which is the active site?

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D